Global coverage
Liquidity coverage by country.
PrimeBrokerLiquidity provides institutional and FX liquidity to brokers, funds and trading firms based in — or serving clients in — each of the 35 markets below. Coverage is wholesale: we are the liquidity counterparty behind a licensed firm, not a local licensee, and nothing here authorises a firm to operate in a market where it is not licensed. Each country guide sets out the supervising authority, the currency, the trading session and the practical points that shape a liquidity relationship in that jurisdiction.
How coverage differs
Why a liquidity relationship looks different in each market.
The aggregated feed itself is global. What changes from market to market is the framework your firm sits inside, the currency you price in, and the hours in which your flow arrives. Four factors do most of the work.
Where your firm is licensed
Your own authorisation — not ours — determines who you may onboard, what you may offer them and on what terms. We contract with the licensed entity as a wholesale counterparty; the perimeter of your permissions is a question for your compliance function and local counsel.
How the currency trades
Some currencies are freely deliverable offshore; others are subject to local rules on non-resident holdings and are commonly traded offshore as non-deliverable forwards instead. Which treatment applies to a given pair is confirmed with the desk at onboarding, and where local law bites, with local counsel.
When your flow arrives
The FX market runs continuously from the Asia-Pacific open on Monday to the New York close on Friday. Depth is greatest where sessions overlap, so a desk whose flow concentrates outside the London and New York windows is scoped differently from one that trades the overlap.
What the market is used for
Some jurisdictions are primarily domestic client markets; others function mainly as licensing and booking bases for firms whose clients sit elsewhere. That distinction shapes instrument coverage, reporting and the shape of the credit conversation more than geography does.
| Region | Typical supervisory pattern | Currency & session context |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | EU and EEA investment firms are authorised under the MiFID II framework by a national competent authority, with cross-border passporting available to authorised firms. The UK operates its own onshored regime under the FCA; Switzerland sits outside the EU under FINMA. | Euro and sterling pricing is deepest through the London session. The United Kingdom is the largest FX trading centre by turnover in the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey. |
| Middle East | Federal regimes sit alongside financial free zones that maintain their own rulebooks and courts, so two firms in the same country can be supervised under different frameworks. | Gulf desks bridge the late Asian and early London sessions, which matters for firms running continuous books. |
| Asia-Pacific | The most varied region: separate national regulators, with margined FX supervised by the securities regulator in some markets and by a commodity-futures authority in others. | The trading week opens in New Zealand and Australia. Several regional currencies are not freely deliverable offshore and are commonly traded as non-deliverable forwards. |
| Africa | A mix of established conduct regulators with domestic client bases and island jurisdictions used mainly as licensing and booking bases for international firms. | Local sessions overlap London for much of the day. The South African rand ranks among the most traded emerging-market currencies in the BIS Triennial Survey. |
| Americas | Frameworks differ sharply, from the federal futures and securities regimes of the United States to Canada's provincial commissions and the offshore licensing centres of the Caribbean. | The New York session overlaps London and closes the trading week. Several Latin American currencies are commonly traded offshore as non-deliverable forwards. |
Regional context only, and not legal, regulatory or tax advice. Regulatory perimeters and currency rules change; confirm the position for your entity and your client base with local counsel before relying on any of it.
Liquidity by country
Institutional & FX liquidity, market by market.
Thirty-five country guides covering the supervising authority, currency, session and practical liquidity considerations in each market we reach — for brokers, funds and trading firms sourcing wholesale liquidity. PrimeBrokerLiquidity is the liquidity behind licensed firms, not a local licensee.
Europe — 10 markets
Europe is the most standardised block we cover. Investment firms across the EU and EEA are authorised under the MiFID II framework by a national competent authority, and an authorised firm can passport its services cross-border, so one licence often supports a client base spread across several member states. Outside that bloc, the United Kingdom runs its own onshored regime under the FCA, Switzerland is supervised by FINMA, and Türkiye's capital markets sit under the Capital Markets Board. In practice this means European desks are usually asking about instrument coverage, reporting and markup configuration rather than about market access.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the United Kingdom — GBP; firms authorised and supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The UK is the largest FX trading centre by turnover in the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Cyprus — EUR; investment firms authorised by CySEC under MiFID II, widely used as an EU base for internationally distributed brokerage.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Switzerland — CHF; supervised by FINMA, outside the EU and the EEA passporting regime.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Germany — EUR; investment services supervised by BaFin under the MiFID II framework.
- FX & institutional liquidity in France — EUR; conduct supervision by the AMF, with the ACPR on the prudential side.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Italy — EUR; investment services supervised by CONSOB under MiFID II.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Spain — EUR; investment services supervised by the CNMV under MiFID II.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the Netherlands — EUR; conduct supervision by the AFM, and a common EU booking base for cross-border firms.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Poland — PLN and EUR; supervised by the KNF, adding a central-European cross to an otherwise euro-weighted book.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Türkiye — TRY; capital markets supervised by the Capital Markets Board. TRY sits outside the euro-area majors and is scoped pair by pair.
Middle East — 2 markets
The Gulf is the one region where the country alone does not tell you which rulebook applies. Alongside federal regimes, the United Arab Emirates hosts two financial free zones that operate their own regulators, rulebooks and courts, so two firms with a UAE address can be supervised under entirely different frameworks. Confirming which regime an entity sits in is the first step of any Gulf onboarding. Commercially, Gulf desks matter because they bridge the late Asian and early London sessions, which is where continuous books tend to thin.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the United Arab Emirates — AED; the federal Securities and Commodities Authority regime alongside the DIFC, supervised by the DFSA, and ADGM, supervised by the FSRA.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Saudi Arabia — SAR; capital markets supervised by the Capital Market Authority, with the Saudi Central Bank on the banking side.
Asia-Pacific — 12 markets
Asia-Pacific is the most varied region we cover, and the one where currency treatment does most of the work. There is no common framework: each market has its own regulator, and margined FX is supervised by the securities regulator in some jurisdictions and by a commodity-futures authority in others. Several regional currencies are not freely deliverable offshore and are commonly traded as non-deliverable forwards instead, so how a given pair is handled has to be confirmed with the desk at onboarding and, where local rules apply to your clients, with local counsel. The trading week also opens here, which makes APAC coverage structural rather than optional for a continuous book.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Australia — AUD; firms licensed by ASIC. The Australian dollar is among the most actively traded currencies in the BIS Triennial Survey.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Singapore — SGD; supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and one of the largest FX trading centres by turnover in the BIS Triennial Survey.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Hong Kong — HKD; supervised by the Securities and Futures Commission, and a principal Asian FX and derivatives centre.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Japan — JPY; supervised by the Financial Services Agency. The yen is one of the three most traded currencies in the BIS Triennial Survey.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Malaysia — MYR; capital markets supervised by the Securities Commission Malaysia. Offshore trading of the ringgit is restricted, so pair treatment is confirmed case by case.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Indonesia — IDR; financial services supervised by OJK, with Bappebti overseeing commodity futures including margined FX. The rupiah is commonly traded offshore as a non-deliverable forward.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Thailand — THB; capital markets supervised by the Thai SEC. Local rules on non-resident baht apply — a point to put to local counsel.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Vietnam — VND; securities markets supervised by the State Securities Commission. The dong is not freely deliverable offshore.
- FX & institutional liquidity in India — INR; securities markets supervised by SEBI, with the Reserve Bank of India administering exchange control. Offshore rupee exposure is commonly traded as a non-deliverable forward.
- FX & institutional liquidity in New Zealand — NZD; supervised by the Financial Markets Authority. The FX trading week opens here, which matters for firms pricing the Monday gap.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the Philippines — PHP; securities markets supervised by the SEC, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as central bank. The peso is commonly traded offshore as a non-deliverable forward.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Vanuatu — VUV; firms licensed by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission, used mainly as a licensing base for firms whose clients sit elsewhere.
Africa — 5 markets
Africa splits cleanly into two groups. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya have established conduct regulators and domestic client bases, so the liquidity conversation is about instrument coverage and local currency treatment. Seychelles and Mauritius function primarily as licensing and booking jurisdictions for firms distributing internationally, so the conversation there is about the shape of the entity, the reporting stream and where the underlying clients actually sit. Local sessions overlap London for much of the trading day, which keeps depth workable across the region.
- FX & institutional liquidity in South Africa — ZAR; firms supervised by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. The rand ranks among the most traded emerging-market currencies in the BIS Triennial Survey.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Seychelles — SCR; firms licensed by the Financial Services Authority, predominantly serving international rather than domestic client bases.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Mauritius — MUR; firms licensed by the Financial Services Commission, and a long-standing fund and investment-dealer domicile.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Nigeria — NGN; capital markets supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the Central Bank of Nigeria administering FX policy. Confirm the current framework with local counsel.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Kenya — KES; firms licensed by the Capital Markets Authority, which operates a licensing regime for online foreign-exchange brokers.
Americas — 6 markets
The Americas span the widest range of frameworks of any region we cover. The United States operates federal futures and securities regimes whose perimeter differs materially from most other markets, and any US-facing plan should be put to US counsel before it is built. Canada supervises investment dealers through CIRO with provincial commissions coordinated through the CSA. Brazil and Mexico have established securities regulators and central banks, with the real commonly traded offshore as a non-deliverable forward while the peso trades freely. Belize and the British Virgin Islands are offshore licensing centres used by firms whose clients sit elsewhere. The New York session overlaps London and closes the trading week.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Canada — CAD; investment dealers overseen by CIRO, with provincial securities commissions coordinated through the Canadian Securities Administrators.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the United States — USD; retail FX and futures regulated by the CFTC and the NFA, and securities by the SEC. The US perimeter is materially different from most markets — a question for US counsel.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Brazil — BRL; securities markets supervised by the CVM, with the Banco Central do Brasil on FX. The real is commonly traded offshore as a non-deliverable forward.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Mexico — MXN; supervised by the CNBV with Banco de México as central bank. The peso is one of the more freely traded emerging-market currencies.
- FX & institutional liquidity in Belize — BZD; an offshore licensing jurisdiction. Confirm the current licensing authority and the perimeter of any licence with local counsel.
- FX & institutional liquidity in the British Virgin Islands — the US dollar is legal tender; firms licensed by the Financial Services Commission, and a long-established fund domicile.
Country notes describe the market, not our permissions. PrimeBrokerLiquidity is a wholesale liquidity counterparty and is not a licensee in the markets listed above; nothing here is legal, regulatory or tax advice, or a representation that any firm may operate in a market where it is not authorised.
Using the country guides
What each country guide sets out.
Every guide follows the same structure, so you can compare two markets side by side before deciding where to license, where to book and which entity should hold the liquidity agreement.
The supervisory picture
Which authority supervises investment services in the market, and how firms serving clients there are typically structured. Read it as orientation, then confirm the perimeter for your entity with local counsel.
Currency and session
The local currency, whether it is freely deliverable offshore or usually traded as a non-deliverable forward, and where the market sits in the 24-hour FX day.
The liquidity relationship
What a wholesale feed into that market usually needs to cover — instrument set, connectivity, credit and reporting — and the questions the desk will ask at onboarding.
Country coverage is one axis; the service you buy is the other. If currencies are the priority, start with our forex liquidity provider service for brokers and funds. If you need bank-grade depth without a direct bank prime brokerage relationship, start with tier 1 liquidity provider access. If you run a funded-trader programme, start with liquidity for prop firms. All three sit behind the same Prime of Prime liquidity relationship, and the full multi-asset picture is on Liquidity Solutions.
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Source wholesale liquidity in your market.
Tell us where your firm is licensed and which markets you serve, and our institutional team will scope FX and multi-asset liquidity for your desk — wherever you operate.